Romp and Circumstance
by DiehardJavaJunkie14
Summary: For the Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda ficathon. Lorelai's Graduation Day is fast approaching, and she has a few things to take care of before the tassel is turned. One of them is making up with Luke. L/L multichapter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I finally got around to posting this. Apparently deadlines are just 'suggestions' to me. But whatever. I'm not going to wait as long as I did last time, that's for sure. There are a few people to thank for this one. Thanks to** Filo** for the beta and the listening ear. And the willingness to challenge me a bit. Thanks to **BOOM** for doing the research for me when I was on campus and couldn't access the episode I was assigned. Thanks to a few other people who know who they are, for listening to be blab on about how this needs to get done. You guys are awesomesauce.

* * *

The books, notes, and other study materials stacked on the kitchen table seemed to be staring at Lorelai, taunting her and preventing her from enjoying her TV show. She grabbed the blanket on the couch, covering up her legs and trying to focus in on the show. Lorelai attempted to concentrate, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see all of her study materials piled up on the table. The sight of the books and notes were getting in the way of her expert procrastinating. She reached for the remote control, starting to channel surf as she glanced at the table. Frustrated, she shut off the television and dropped the remote on the couch. Her playtime was over for the day. Finals were fast approaching, and if the previous day's study session was any indication, she was far from prepared.

She tossed the blanket aside and walked into the kitchen. Grabbing the first book on the stack, she opened it, looking for the outline she had made on the last day of class. Lorelai groaned, realizing that it wasn't inside the book. She reached for the folder on the bottom of the stack of study materials, hoping that her outlines were carelessly misplaced. The idea of re-doing the outlines made her feel nauseous. As she searched through the folder, she came across a stack of papers and let out a sigh of relief.

The outlines were found. She couldn't put off studying any longer. Lorelai opened the outline packet and started to make some flash cards, but every thought she had running through her head seemed to distract her from her work. _Focus, Lorelai, focus,_ she tried to tell herself.

"Man, I need coffee," she said to the empty room, getting up from the table and starting a new pot. As the coffee brewed, Lorelai attempted to concentrate once again. She didn't know what it was, but something she read started to lead her astray. When the trail of thoughts came to Luke and the fight they had, her head started to hurt.

It was more from guilt than anything else. Although, she knew that her reaction wasn't completely out of line. Her kid had just been in an accident, and as far as she was concerned, Luke was the easiest to blame. If Luke hadn't been so… Luke-ish and let Jess stay with him, Rory wouldn't have gotten in a car accident.

The logical part of her knew that it obviously wasn't Luke's fault. Luke was right; he cared more about Rory than he did about himself. Lorelai was probably a little irrational about the whole thing, but she was sure Luke could understand that she was concerned about Rory's safety, and maybe a little overemotional at that point.

Well, maybe not. Lorelai knew Rory was okay. But as she thought beyond the fact that Rory was safe, and touched on why the accident happened, her only option at the time seemed to be to tell Luke to go to hell. Because of _course_ he was directly responsible for the accident; there could be no other explanation. Lorelai shook her head. Now the guilt started to kick in again.

She couldn't deal with that when finals were approaching. It was too much stress. The tension headache she was experiencing from simply thinking about all the studying she would have to do was enough to deal with. The fight with Luke was just making things worse.

Shaking her head, she focused in on her outline again. She checked off the third term on the outline, putting its corresponding flash card on the top of the newly created pile. After about a dozen flash cards, the coffee was finished and Lorelai's mind wandered to the big fight again.

Lorelai got up and poured herself a cup of coffee as she continued to think about the blowout over Rory and Jess's accident. Taking a seat at the table, she unconsciously tapped a highlighter on the table. Lorelai could always go into the diner, maybe start to wear Luke down. Things would eventually be back to the way they were; she could go to the diner for coffee and food, and she could concentrate on her work. That would be one less thing she had to deal with. Maybe if they made up…

It wasn't going to be an easy resolution. There weren't just hurt feelings involved this time. There were injuries, relatives, and several tons of twisted metal that also made this idea of making up more difficult. She wasn't one to grovel for forgiveness. Lorelai was fully aware that she had said some hurtful things and irrationally blamed Luke for something that wasn't his fault.

But they had to make up. They always did. Sure, sometimes it took a little longer than others. Sometimes there were more hurtful things said, sometimes it took longer to realize the stupidity of the whole thing, and sometimes things weren't the same for a little while after the make up. But she and Luke always moved on.

Yes, going to the diner was a good idea. It would start the healing process earlier, make things a little easier during study time, and it would give her some peace of mind.

"How's it going?" Rory asked, walking out of her bedroom and into Lorelai's study zone, interrupting her thoughts.

"I hate these books, hate them," Lorelai answered, abandoning the idea of going to the diner.

"Now, now," Rory started.

As Rory spoke, Lorelai's papers started to fall out of her books. "Agh! See that? They're trying to escape – they hate me, too."

"Your books don't hate you," Rory replied, trying to reassure her mother.

"Ugh, Rory, my brain is full. It has reached capacity. It's Shea Stadium when the Beatles played. It's cramped and girls are screaming and I think George is fighting with Ringo."

"You have a very active head," Rory said.

"I simply cannot ingest anymore information."

"So take a break."

Lorelai shook her head. "I don't have time."

"Close your eyes, clear your head."

The idea was tempting, but Lorelai hadn't really gotten much done since she started. She had to stick with it for a little while before she took a break. "No, because clearing my head just means that all the knowledge I have painstakingly stuffed in there will leak out. In order to make room for stuff, I lose stuff. It's a very vicious circle."

Rory poured herself some coffee while Lorelai lamented on her woes in the pursuit of higher education. The throbbing pain between her eyes worsened as Rory declared that learning was fun. The symptoms Lorelai was experiencing were far from what she would call fun. Her head felt heavy. Heavy with knowledge, but it was knowledge that would surely be forgotten if she stopped looking at the books for more than five minutes.

She had high school flashbacks, recalling the early mornings that she spent with a book in hand, reading by flashlight at her desk. Lorelai could recall the feeling of disgust she had after fighting the internal battle between wanting to do well in school and wanting to see her friends or go out on a date.

Lorelai was never a slacker by nature, but the pressure was often too much. The expectations that Emily and Richard set for her were less than appealing. Sure, she wanted to do well, but Vassar wasn't her own personal benchmark for success. The fact that it was all being forced upon her made her less than interested.

But the tables were turned now. Lorelai was studying for her own good, not to please anyone else. She was doing it because someday, somehow, she was going to open her own inn.

Opening her own inn. That was a pretty big dream. It wasn't like the achievement relied solely on passing her finals and graduating from business school, but it was a major piece to the puzzle that would eventually form her future. The realization made her symptoms worse. Quickly abandoning thoughts of the inn, she continued her rant to Rory.

"That's what kills me – this is self-inflicted. I'm a masochist. I might as well be carrying a switch and periodically lacerating myself with it," she said overdramatically.

"That diploma hanging on the wall is going to make this all worthwhile, trust me," Rory assured her.

Lorelai shrugged. "I guess, unless I turn into John Nash and start drooling on people."

Lorelai started to turn her attention toward her books once again when Rory interrupted her train of thought. "Hey, you're graduating."

"I know."

"No, you're _graduating_ – there's gonna be a ceremony," Rory pointed out.

"Oh, I don't know. It's community college."

"Well, community colleges have ceremonies."

Lorelai picked up her pencil. "My community college doesn't even have a lawn, they won't necessarily have a ceremony."

"They must," Rory insisted. "Did you ask?"

"No." Lorelai thought for a moment. "Well, now that you mention it, I think someone said something about some cheesy ceremony for my business class."

Rory's interest grew at Lorelai's revelation. "When is it?"

"I don't know," Lorelai paused. "Next Thursday or something."

"That's great, you have to do it," Rory insisted.

"I don't know."

"You have to do it," Rory repeated.

"Really?"

Rory nodded. "Yes. You've never been a part of an actual graduation ceremony."

"I know. That's because my stupid conservative high school wouldn't let me be in the ceremony and nurse you at the same time," Lorelai teased.

Rory made a disgusted face. "Don't be gross."

"Do you really think I should do it?"

"Yes!" Rory answered enthusiastically. "You've worked hard for this, you've earned it."

"I guess."

Rory wasn't going to give up. "Come on, you know that deep down you really want to do this."

Lorelai imagined the idea of a graduation ceremony. The fact that she would have the chance to be in the ceremony was intriguing. Getting the diploma from an envelope that had been sitting in her mailbox didn't exactly seem the same as getting it at a graduation ceremony. She sighed. "Well, I'll admit, I've always wanted to wear one of those gowns.

"And the hat?"

"For the tassel 'cause you know my thing for fringe!"

"And they call out your name and people clap and you get your diploma."

"Oh, and then you do that thing where you move the tassel from one side to the other," Lorelai said with a nod. "Very symbolic, very dramatic."

"That's it, you're doing it," Rory declared.

The look on Rory's face convinced Lorelai. The ceremony didn't really matter to her, but Rory was already planning the day in her head. The more that she thought about it, the idea didn't sound that bad. Not wanting to disappoint Rory, and remembering her love of fringe, Lorelai gave in. "All right, if you insist."

Rory pumped her fist in the air. "Can't you hear it now? Pomp and Circumstance playing in the background as you walk in and wave to your adoring fan?"

"Adoring fan?"

"What, your daughter can't also be an adoring fan? Or would you prefer adoring _fans?_"

Lorelai shrugged. "I'd actually prefer a whole section, with people wearing t-shirts sitting in the crowd so when you look out it spells 'Lorelai'. Maybe they can make up a few dirty cheers."

"Is the crowd going to be that big?"

"Hardly," Lorelai scoffed. "You asked what I would prefer. I simply answered, ignoring the laws of logic and decorum, if you count the dirty cheering."

Rory took the idea and ran with it. "How many people are you planning to invite? Well, how many people _can_ you invite?"

"I think there's a form somewhere in this folder with all the details," Lorelai said, motioning to the overstuffed folder with her outlines and notes.

"Mom, did you raid the recycling plant? Where did all this come from?"

"I was thinking about making a whole bunch of paper people chains instead of studying."

Rory pulled the form out of the folder and stacked some of Lorelai's notes on top of each other, creating a spot to sit at the kitchen table. "Okay. Your name is Lorelai Gilmore. Preferred name?"

"Molly Ringwald."

"I'm leaving it blank," Rory said pointedly, checking off a few boxes on the form. "You go by Lorelai. And besides, pink really isn't your color."

Lorelai pointed the pen at Rory, trying to look threatening. "You're funny. Hysterical. Remember where most of your genes come from, and when you try to find some form of red attire for Christmas or Valentine's Day, don't be surprised when I tell you that you look bad in it."

"Yes, I will be attending the graduation ceremony," Rory read out loud, ignoring Lorelai's comment. "Number of guests? How many guests are you inviting?"

"The only guest I need is my adoring fan," Lorelai replied, detaching a page from her outline packet and folding it into a paper airplane.

Rory shook her head. "I'll be there. Sookie will want to go, right? With Jackson, that's three. Do you want to invite Luke?"

Lorelai's eyes darted to the floor as she tried to think of an excuse to leave Luke off of the guest list. If the two of them weren't fighting, he would be an obvious fourth guest. But the repercussions of their argument still lingered, reminding Lorelai that Sookie, Jackson, and Rory would be her only guests. They sat for a few moments in silence as Lorelai tried to form an explanation. Before she had to break the silence, Rory picked up on the hint.

"Okay, so no Luke. Well, I'll say six so I can stand outside the building holding them up and selling them for outrageous prices."

Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief and tossed the paper airplane across the kitchen. "My daughter, the scalper. Such big ambitions."

"I'll make a fortune to buy you a great graduation present," Rory replied. "You have to give them a fifty dollar fee to cover the gown rental and the diploma printing, and they need your signature."

"Forge it for me, I'm studying," Lorelai said, turning back to her books.

"First I'm scalping, now I'm forging? Mom, I'm going to be put in jail before I can see you graduate, is that what you want?"

Lorelai grabbed the form and quickly signed her name at the bottom, handing it back to Rory. "There, are you happy?"

"Your L looks like a C. And your dot on the I barely left the actual I. Looks like an L. The L that should have been at the front where the C is."

"I told you to forge it for me, but you didn't listen," Lorelai replied. "Therefore, you forfeit all rights of signature criticism."

"Well with the way this signature looks, they may question the authenticity of it anyway, Corelal Gilmorf," Rory teased, putting the form in Lorelai's purse.

"Why did you put it in there? I'll never find it!"

Rory shrugged. "Well we know you won't lose your purse. And when you have to hand it in tomorrow night and you start looking everywhere for it, instead of looking for your phone to call me and ask me where it is, you'll find the form right there."

Lorelai sighed. "I suppose your logic isn't completely lost on me."

"I am a pretty logical thinker," Rory replied, getting up from the table and walking toward her room. "Now study hard and I'll give you a shiny star sticker."

"I don't want any of the crappy blue ones, I want the gold ones," Lorelai called as Rory's door shut.

The door opened once again. "Gotta earn the shiny gold star," Rory said, raising her eyebrows and motioning to the books as she disappeared into her room and shut the door.

Lorelai sighed. Rory was right. Gold star or no gold star, it was time to start really studying. Procrastinating wouldn't even be fun because the realization that all that work was waiting for her would detract from her enjoyment of the procrastination.

Pulling the book from her lap and putting it onto the table, Lorelai reached for a highlighter and pulled off the cap. She started highlighting some key phrases and words, but soon the margins were filled with stripes, hearts, and other multi colored neon doodles. Her concentration began to fade as the words started to run together. She sighed, holding the highlighter between her teeth as she pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail.

After a few more minutes of highlighting, she forcefully jammed the cap onto the pen and slid it across the table, smiling when she saw it hit the floor. Her willingness to study was officially gone. Her stomach growled and she pouted.

The growling in her stomach subsided and a guilty, knotted feeling set in. She hated fighting with Luke. When she fought with Luke, she not only lost a good cup of coffee; she lost a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on, and a friend to talk to (and sometimes torture lovingly).

She sighed. She felt especially crappy about this particular fight. But as bad as she felt, she still had finals to study for. Determined to shake the guilty feeling, she got up and opened the door to the refrigerator. She cringed when she realized how forcefully she pulled it, swinging it back in to make sure it was still on the hinge. Satisfied that it wasn't broken, she crouched down and took a look inside the refrigerator.

She grinned when she found a pudding cup. Glancing at the expiration date, she put the pudding back in the refrigerator. She'd clean it out after she got something to eat. She glanced over at her purse, thinking about grabbing it and walking out the door. Lorelai could almost picture herself sitting in the diner, enjoying a study break, a cheeseburger, and a cup of coffee.

But that was impossible. _Okay, maybe not impossible,_ she thought as she scooted some bottles of water around on the shelf, _but it's not like it would help me concentrate_. She stared into the refrigerator, almost hoping that leftovers would magically appear. Opening the freezer and shivering from the blast of cold air, Lorelai pulled out a box of frozen macaroni and cheese. She shut the doors to the refrigerator and the freezer when she saw that it was still edible, and began to scrape the frost off of the top of the box.

Lorelai put the macaroni and cheese into the microwave and sat down at the table, hoping to get some studying done in the few minutes she had until her meal was cooked. Just as she was starting to get back into the studying mode, the microwave beeped. Lorelai grabbed a fork and lifted the lid of the macaroni container, letting out a sigh when she saw that the noodles had all fused together when they were cooking.

She dumped the noodles in the trash and sat down at the table one more time. She could survive without the macaroni.

But she could really go for a cheeseburger…

Back at square one. _Quit thinking about the damn cheeseburger. Go find some chocolate or something. You're not going to Luke's. You need to concentrate on finals. He'll still be there when you're done._

Her foot dragged across the kitchen floor as she replayed the fight in her mind. She put her head in her hands and sighed, leaning her elbows on the table. It was like being back in the middle of the street, screaming at Luke all over again. She could hear him screaming back at her like it had happened seconds ago. Quickly, Lorelai opened her eyes, shaking her head and trying to let the thoughts go.

Reaching for her outline, she made one last attempt to get some work done. Sure, she had other things on her mind, but getting some of it out of the way would help her get some rest, if nothing else. She let out a frustrated groan as her stomach growled again. She had no cheeseburger, a tepid cup of coffee, and no Luke to solve each of those problems.

It was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thanks again to **Filo** for all her beta work. Thanks to the **SCPP** for all the writing sessions. And thanks to **whoever wrote this episode** for the dialogue I borrowed.

* * *

As Lorelai, Rory, and Dean walked through the town square, Lorelai quickly ran through her mental grocery list. They were approaching Doose's; now was the time to get the study food she needed if she wanted to avoid another catastrophe like her last session. Excusing herself and slipping into the market, she grabbed a basket and began plopping impulse purchases inside without a second thought. She remained focused on the long list of junk food items in her head as she maneuvered her way through the market. As she located a few items and started toward the front of the store, she ran into someone.

"Oh," the familiar voice said, startled by their sudden physical contact.

Lorelai was mortified. Of all the people who she could have run into, and of all the times in the world she could have possibly run into them, she had to choose Luke. She had to choose Luke, when they were fighting. "Dah!" she yelped, more at the situation than at Luke himself.

Luke backed away. "Sorry."

Lorelai straightened up. Now was her chance to try to patch things up. She flashed him a smile, hoping that he would see it the same way. "No, no, I should have signaled or honked or something, my fault."

"Okay," he replied.

She could hear the ringing in her ears, and she could almost feel the stares of random passersby. It was almost as if the entire world knew that she was fighting with Luke, and they had come to watch the showdown at Doose's. Lorelai tried to be cordial. "Well, um, I guess it was inevitable… us running into each other. It's a very tiny community." _The only time it seems too small,_ Lorelai thought to herself.

She couldn't help but wonder if he was looking to put the fight behind them, too. All she needed was a semi normal conversation with Luke to ensure her sanity through finals. And even after finals, as a matter of fact.

It was always during the stressful times in her life when she realized how much she needed Luke. She also had a tendency to start to appreciate him more when they were fighting. It made her feel selfish. It wasn't like she didn't appreciate him every day, but the little things he did for her were magnified when she realized just how…_not little _they were.

Lorelai knew he wasn't just the guy who fed her, made her coffee, and fixed anything in her house for free at a moment's notice. He was so much more than that. He was her best friend. And she hated fighting with the people that meant that much to her. She hated fighting with people, period. It was always easier to avoid the confrontation, like she did for so long with her parents. But it was clear that she wasn't getting out of this situation anytime soon, so she would have to make the best of it.

And her efforts to achieve that seemed to be falling short. Everything around her seemed to disappear and she was forced to focus in on Luke. She looked up into his eyes, and she could tell he was still angry by the way he looked at her. Looking down at the floor, the guilty feeling she had the night before came rushing back.

_How stupid can you be? Now is the time you reflect on what he means to you? _

She felt like a five year old, doing everything she could to avoid getting sick on the day of the ballet recital. Normal would be appreciated so much more if she could just get better and be able to dance.

Her "normal" could only be classified as patching things up with Luke. If she could just be able to walk to her destination without a detour like she used to, she wouldn't complain about how cold it was, or how hungry she was, on the way to the diner. She would _try _to be less obnoxious. She wouldn't guarantee anything, but she would try. Lorelai knew she would never be able to completely give up being obnoxious to Luke. It's how they operated. She was obnoxious, he pretended to be annoyed, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

But whatever it would end up taking to get back to normal… she would do it.

Luke shrugged. "Guess so," he replied.

She couldn't really think of what to say in response. Of course, there wasn't really much to say. Lorelai treated Luke like dirt, and she was just starting to realize what he meant to her. Lorelai searched for a topic of conversation, almost feeling a chill from Luke's less than friendly stare. "How's the diner?"

"It's still there."

It wasn't like she expected him to say any more than that. It was a very Luke thing to say. But the way he said it hurt her. She got the feeling that she was treading on thin ice. It was time to just try to figure things out and move on. "Yes, I knew that. I'm able to empirically… with my eyes, uh… hey Luke, do you think we could—"

"I gotta get back," Luke interrupted.

Lorelai sighed. The anger from the night of the accident built up inside her again. She knew she was wrong, why didn't he want to stick around to listen to her make a fool of herself in an attempt to patch things up? But then again, she saw where he was coming from. The argument had her balling up her fists in anger even after the fact. The anger, hurt, and frustration from that night built up inside her and the tears started to sting her eyes. Slowly taking a deep breath and trying to regain her composure, she forced a smile. "Okay, right, right," she said, trying not to act like it affected her.

He gave her one last look as he walked toward the front of the store.

Lorelai looked down into her basket and walked aimlessly around the store, trying to make sense of their meeting. Obviously he was still angry. The icy stare he gave her on the way out made that perfectly clear. She was emotionally drained and she was ready to move on.

How would she get him to come around? She couldn't deal with standing in the market and dwelling on it, so she quickly paid for the items she had and left. Walking back home, she vowed to get some studying done and to forget all about Luke for the night. After all, she had to get her priorities straight. Luke was important, but he wasn't a priority at this point. The damage had already been done, and it wasn't like things were going to get worse once finals were over.

She put the bags from Doose's on the counter, bringing the one with the Mallomars over to the table with her. If Luke didn't seem ready to put the argument behind him, then she wasn't ready, either. It was pathetic that he had gotten under her skin so badly the last time she tried to get some work done. Did she still want to make up? Sure. But Luke's obvious lack of interest in making up didn't exactly make it urgent, either.

Lorelai had almost everything she needed to start a Luke-free night of studying. She grabbed her Hello Kitty zip up hoodie from the back of the couch and slipped on her fuzzy pink and white striped socks. Returning to the table, she took a deep breath and opened the nearest book, forcing herself to concentrate on the information in front of her.

Half a box of Mallomars disappeared before Lorelai realized she wasn't getting anything done. She had to do something about the Luke situation. But what could she do? It wasn't like she could do something to completely alleviate the stress the fight caused. That would involve an apology. One of those rambly and embarrassing apologies she had become known for.

Lorelai knew something had to be done, as much as she hated apologies. If there was a way to skip the awkward tangents, the random pauses, and the tension in the room, she would probably have apologized a long time ago. Suddenly, she got an idea.

She ran to the end table, opened the drawer, and pulled out several pieces of Garfield stationery. Then she sat down at the table again, scribbling her thoughts onto the paper, and folded up the pieces of paper without reading what she had written. Lorelai put the papers in an envelope and shoved it under her book.

Maybe now she could get back to studying. She turned her attention to the notes, trying to get some work done. She could see the corner of the envelope sticking out from underneath her book. Lorelai let out a sigh, yanked the envelope out from underneath the book, and shoved it into her purse. Now it was out of sight, out of mind.

And it seemed to do the trick. A few hours, two packages of index cards, and her entire stash of Mallomars later, Lorelai decided that it was finally time to take a break. Her eyes were bleary from all the reading and her head was starting to hurt again. She got up from her seat and walked toward Rory's bedroom. Lightly knocking on the door, she walked in and seated herself on Rory's bed.

"I'm taking a break. Do you want to go catch a movie or something?"

"I would, but Paris has been especially crazy over the Franklin lately. I have to rewrite some articles and get some more sources for another. Sorry," Rory replied, turning away from her laptop and facing Lorelai. "I would if I could."

"Ugh, that sucks, sweets," Lorelai said, lying down on the bed. "Any clue when you'll be done? I'll wait for you."

Rory sighed. "Depends. I may be doing these in my sleep. Paris just called and said she may e-mail me some more stuff to do tonight."

"Aw, man, I was really looking forward to taking a break," Lorelai said with a pout. "Is there someone that I can complain to on your behalf? And technically on mine? We were supposed to take a break together. I believe I even have some new nail polish. It's called 'I'm Fondue of You' and I'd hate to let it go to waste."

"Just because I'm not taking a break, doesn't mean you can't," Rory pointed out, opening a folder on her desk. "You probably need a change of scenery. Go to Sookie's. I'm sure she'll enjoy the culinary nail polish. It's the merging of two phenomena that rarely meet."

"She and Jackson have plans tonight," Lorelai replied. "I guess the once in a lifetime event will have to wait."

Rory nodded. "Well then take a walk. Get some fresh air. You'll find something to do."

Lorelai sat up and picked up one of Rory's throw pillows. "What if I don't? It's almost nine in Stars Hollow. The swingin' parties all end around eight forty five."

"Like I said before, a change of scenery is probably all you need. Take a walk to the square, go to the gazebo. Get out of the Crap Shack and just find somewhere to enjoy yourself for an hour."

"I didn't really want to take this break alone," Lorelai pointed out, returning the pillow to its place. "If I take this break alone, I'll just be thinking about how much I still have to do, and how much time I'm wasting. If I take the break with you, I wouldn't be thinking about work. I would be thinking about whatever we were doing. I'll actually be able to enjoy myself and say that I took a real break."

Lorelai hoped that Rory would have a suggestion for her. The Luke situation was once again ruining her concentration, and she needed to get out of the house. Going alone would only distract her more. If things didn't work out with Luke soon, she wouldn't get anything done before her finals.

She had to get him off her mind. This was getting absolutely ridiculous. The meeting at Doose's only made things worse. There had to be something she could do.

"Mom, you don't need me to have a good time. You don't need me to take a break, for that matter. You're a big girl now."

"Oh, but I do! You're my right arm. Without you I would be… armless," she said, throwing her hands in the air.

Rory shrugged. "Well at least you wouldn't be legless."

"I'd rather be legless. Think about it. Heather Mills has a prosthetic leg, look at what she's done with her life. Do you know any celebrities with prosthetic arms?"

"Do you want to take a break or not?"

"I do. I just don't like the idea of taking it alone."

Rory got up from the desk and sat next to Lorelai on the bed. "Just get out of the house. Be back in an hour, though, don't make me come find you," she teased, pointing at Lorelai and attempting to give a stern look.

Lorelai held up her hands. "Ooh, scary face. I have to listen to you now."

"You're down to fifty nine minutes and forty seconds."

"Bye," Lorelai said, darting out of Rory's room and grabbing her coat. Lorelai took the first stack of flash cards she saw on the way out and held them in her mouth to free her hands. She walked outside, pulling on her jacket as she shut the door behind her. Removing the flash cards from her mouth and stuffing her hands in her pockets, she started to walk down the street, contemplating where she could go for an hour. Le Chat Club wasn't having any sales, she had already been to Doose's that day, and any plans of sneaking in to catch half of a movie would be thwarted by Kirk, who was most likely working as an usher in the movie theater that night.

She could drop the letter off. Yes, it was the perfect plan. Dropping the letter off would give her some peace of mind, and she could avoid the apology situation entirely. She had to go now, before she talked herself out of it. If she wanted to have any sort of success in her efforts to study, now was the time to start fixing things.

The meeting with Luke in Doose's replayed in her head as she walked around the town square, playing with the elastic band on her stack of cards. She shuddered. The hardest part of the making up process was over; they had already gotten through their first post blowup meeting. Sure, it wasn't the most pleasant conversation they ever had, but there had been worse. Lorelai decided that it was time to start making up, or she would go insane. She stopped suddenly. He had probably started shutting down for the night. Lorelai wanted to make up with Luke, not make him more angry. She sighed. If it came down to having no cooked food, she could survive with just coffee, as long as it meant patching things up with Luke.

She walked into the diner, taking a look around to find it empty. The smell of French fries and cheeseburgers wafted her way as she reached into her purse. Ordering wouldn't be so bad, right? It was a diner, after all, and she was a customer. She was certainly capable of keeping things civil and having a cheeseburger at the same time. She took off her jacket and hung it on the back of the chair. The debate of what to order was in full swing when Luke approached her.

"You ready to order?" he asked.

She glanced at him. "Look, I know that pulling another Jenga block out of this mess could potentially make the whole damn thing collapse. I just… uh…"

He stared at her with his arms folded across his chest. His demeanor was less gruff and guarded than it was in Doose's. Luke didn't seem ready for the standard Luke and Lorelai banter, but it looked like he was ready to try and fix things. Lorelai looked at the floor, and then at Luke. She took a deep breath. "Did you uh, start shutting everything down yet?"

"Nope."

"Then, uh, yeah, I'll have a coffee, please. And a cheeseburger, with extra cheese. And onion rings. And maybe some tater tots."

"Coming right up," he replied unenthusiastically, disappearing into the kitchen.

Lorelai reached into the pocket of her coat, pulling out some index cards. She began to quiz herself when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luke starting up the stove again. The stack of index cards in her hand suddenly became unimportant when she watched him pace back and forth in the kitchen, waiting for everything to start back up so he could cook for her.

She smiled to herself and put the elastic band back on the cards. Lorelai didn't know what to say. It was one of the things she liked most about Luke. Even when they were angry with each other, he would do something subtle like this that ended up meaning more than anything he could ever say. As she walked up to the counter, she saw Luke emerge from the kitchen with a fresh pot of coffee in hand. "Aw, jeez, Lorelai would it kill you to pick a seat and stay in it?" he muttered, reaching for a mug and pouring her a cup of coffee.

"You didn't have to do that, Luke," she replied, accepting the mug.

"What do you mean? You're the one who switched seats on me. That's twice the work I'll have to do tonight to close up this place. And if you meant that I didn't have to give you coffee, you're wrong there, too. Of course I had to give you coffee," he said, starting to rant. "Coffee is what you run on. You can't survive without the coffee and I'm the guy who has the coffee."

Lorelai shook her head. "I'm not sitting here. And you're right. Not giving me the coffee would be very dangerous. That's not what I meant, though. I'll move back to the seat if you want."

"I don't care where you sit, I have to clean up the whole damn place anyway. I didn't have to do what?" he asked. His tone changed from agitated to curious as he uncrossed his arms, leaning against the back counter.

She smiled. "You didn't have to start everything up again. I hate that you had to turn everything on after you were ready to close for the night. You could have just told me you were closed."

He shrugged. "Why the hell would I do that? Gotta pay the bills, you know?"

"I don't buy it," she said, straightening up in her stool. Lorelai thought about pressing the issue some more, but she saw that Luke was getting uncomfortable.

"You're one of my best customers," he replied after a long pause.

"So is Kirk," Lorelai replied, taking a sip of the coffee Luke poured for her. "You kick him out after you decide that you're ready to close. You don't turn everything on again just because he eats here every day. You practically throw him out the door."

"I do not—"

"I've seen you do it on multiple occasions. If you need me to, I can gather some sworn witness statements. Don't make me break out the hidden surveillance tapes. There might be some evidence to prove that you have, in fact, forcibly removed Kirk from your establishment."

Luke simply looked at her. At first, she looked into his eyes, waiting for him to start an argument, a rant, or to go back to the big fight. But he said nothing. Lorelai shuddered as she felt a tingle in her spine. Their eyes remained connected for a moment before he quickly looked away and attempted to find something to do. He grabbed a towel and began to wipe down the counter, busying himself in an obvious attempt to avoid answering her.

Lorelai was touched. Clearly things weren't as bad as she thought. Smiling, she took another sip of coffee and brought it back to her table without saying another word.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone who's been reading! I really appreciate it. Thanks again to **Filo** for giving her grasshopper room to...uh, hop. And for beta-ing. Hee.

* * *

After that night, Lorelai was relieved that her friendship with Luke seemed to be restored. She woke up the next morning, finally able to take a direct route to Luke's diner instead of a roundabout trip somewhere else for coffee in the morning. As she walked out the door, she realized that she was going to _Luke's._ Going to Luke's meant bigger tables, less wait time to be served, and coffee that was worlds better than anything else in town. The conditions were perfect for getting some studying done.

She made her way to the diner, took a seat, and spread her books out on the table. Caesar took Lorelai's order as she got settled and organized her study materials. Glancing behind the counter, she saw Luke behind the cash register. He looked like he had been stuck there forever. Suddenly she regretted ordering the pancakes. She sighed, opening the book in front of her and picking up where she left off.

Soon, her studies were interrupted by the arrival of her food. "Are you going to move that book so I can serve your food?" Luke asked.

Lorelai looked up at Luke and gave him an apologetic smile, marking her page in the book and putting it aside. Her eyes followed the plate of pancakes from Luke's hand to the table and she fumbled for a fork without moving her eyes from the plate. "They are a thing of beauty," she said, finally grasping the fork. "And you added the syrup already." She glanced at him and batted her eyelashes. "I changed my mind. You might be the thing of beauty."

He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Do you need anything else?"

She dug her fork into the stack of pancakes. "More hours in a day. Probably an advanced copy of every one of these finals. The answer key to the advanced copies. Oh, and a never ending supply of coffee."

"You have finals?"

"Nope, I just like cramming all this knowledge in my head for my Jeopardy audition. I've always wanted to write my name all pretty on the screen that sits in front of you. And it would be really, really cool to say I met Alex Trebek."

"So you have finals."

"They are going to be the death of me, Luke," Lorelai started, reaching into her purse. She pulled out three large stacks of index cards and placed them on top of each other. "That's only the beginning. I have six more like that at home."

"So the consumption of food that is pure crap won't kill you, but doing something beneficial like studying for your finals will?"

Lorelai grinned. "Wow, you are a _fast_ learner. I have a gold star for you if you want it," she said, pulling out a sheet of stickers.

"I'll pass," he said, taking her empty coffee cup and walking behind the counter to fill it.

She continued to read through the material in front of her as Luke returned to the table. Moving the papers out of the way to make room for the coffee, Lorelai reached across her book to eat more of the pancakes.

"That system doesn't seem to be working for you," he muttered, placing the coffee mug in the newly created spot.

"You got any suggestions for me?" she snapped. Lorelai cringed when she heard the snippy tone she had just taken with Luke. "Sorry, I'm just really stressed out."

"My suggestion would be to close the books and eat, but that may be too obvious," he teased.

"I don't have time to shut the books. If I stop studying, all the information will evaporate. My finals are Friday. All I have is tonight and tomorrow to study. There's a bunch of meetings at the inn today, and a convention tomorrow. Therefore, the only time I have to study is times like, I don't know, right now. I have no time to do anything that isn't related to… oh God, what am I studying? I don't even know anymore!" Lorelai said overdramatically.

Luke grabbed one of Lorelai's notebooks and folded it so only one page was showing. He closed the book that was sitting in front of her and placed it at the other end of the table, making room for her plate. Placing the notebook to the left of the plate, and the coffee to the right, he took a step back, allowing the changes to sink in.

"That makes all kinds of sense, why didn't I think of that before?" she said, shaking her head and taking another bite of her pancake.

He shrugged. "Priorities."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Lorelai glanced over at Luke as he served the rest of the customers in the diner. She was glad that things were starting to fall into place again. She was concentrating better and their friendship seemed to be repaired for the most part. The white envelope sticking out of her purse caught her eye for a moment. The tickets to the graduation ceremony were right there. Maybe she could invite Luke.

She focused in on the book in front of her again. There was still time. When things were a little more normal she would ask. She finished her meal and gathered her study materials together before making her way to the counter to pay for her food. "So are you going to get that really gooey cheese in before the end of the week?"

"What gooey cheese?"

"You know what cheese I'm talking about. Did you order it this week?"

"I'm sure if you called my supplier and asked for the gooey cheese, he would be just as lost as I am."

Lorelai sighed. "Just answer my question."

"Maybe. Why?"

"I was wondering if I could come in for a pre-finals breakfast? Eggs with the gooey cheese? And maybe a lot of sausage and bacon?"

He nodded, handing Lorelai her change. "I'll be here."

She smiled. "Good. Well, I should get to the inn. See you later."

"See you later."

**

"Still studying like a good little girl?" Rory asked, dropping her backpack onto a chair in the kitchen and walking toward the refrigerator.

Lorelai nodded. "I think I have the first three stacks of flash cards down."

Rory grabbed a bottled water and took her backpack off the chair. "Dirty acronyms?"

"It's the only way I could remember all the definitions! Desperate times call for desperate measures." Lorelai protested.

"Well, you're remembering them, that's what matters."

"Ah, but remembering them for Friday is the true test," Lorelai insisted. She drew a pink highlighter line through a page in her notebook.

Rory motioned to an envelope on the table beside Lorelai. "Are those the tickets to the graduation ceremony?"

"They are. Apparently someone didn't read the directions on the sheet she filled out, though."

"What do you mean?"

"You can only get four tickets."

"Well I guess I have to return my 'scalping for dummies' book now," Rory teased. "I'm not sure Andrew will take it back without a receipt."

Lorelai shrugged. "Store credit isn't something Rory Gilmore turns down."

Rory sipped her water. "Oh, you're right! I can get the _Anarchist's Cookbook_ with that money. Thanks, Mom. Always full of ideas!"

She turned the page in her book. "Anything to make my little anarchist happy."

"So I heard you and Luke are talking again."

Lorelai looked up at Rory. She put the cap on her highlighter and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Yeah. We ran into each other at Doose's the other day and then I stopped by the diner. We talked a little."

"So everything's back to normal?"

"For the most part," she replied. "It's getting there."

Rory smiled. "You know what might break the ice? Give him a ticket to graduation."

Lorelai picked up the envelope and looked at the tickets inside. She thought about asking Luke to the ceremony a few times that day. Each time she thought about it, she pushed the idea out of her head as quickly as it came up. By lunch, that became more difficult to do. Now it was nearly impossible to avoid thinking about asking him. "I'll think about it. You know, see how things go in the next few days."

"Don't forget to give those to Sookie and Jackson," Rory said, motioning to the tickets. "And that one's mine. You have one ticket. Use it wisely."

"You really need to get better at making your scary face," Lorelai teased, slipping the envelope back into her purse. "Right now it's just an annoyed face."

"You, missy, need to get back to studying," Rory insisted, tapping the book that sat in front of Lorelai.

Lorelai sighed. She knew she needed to get back to studying, but she was far from able to concentrate. Now the Luke at graduation issue was on her mind. She had successfully pushed any thought of the idea away before, but she couldn't shake it this time. Hoping that Rory would be able to successfully distract her from studying, Lorelai thought quickly. "I've studied all day today. I need a break. Sit down, tell me about your day. We'll eat lots of junk food and sit and talk about how wonderful your day was."

"My day wasn't that exciting. Paris nearly decapitated my history teacher with her wild gestures to get our attention during a meeting today, but that's about a three on the entertainment scale. And we also don't have any food."

"I'd say it was more like a three and a half," Lorelai replied, shutting the book. "Nearly decapitating people is still exciting."

Rory twisted the cap on her water bottle. "So, what did you want to do on your break? See a movie?"

"No, Kirk's working tonight. We can't try to stretch it into a double feature."

"Damn him and his rules," Rory said, slamming the water bottle on the table for added effect. "Paying for both movies, what a stupid concept."

"Exactly!"

"We could get food and watch movies here."

There had to be something going on. Lorelai needed to get out of the house and away from the books. It was Wednesday; her finals were Friday. It would be her last chance to enjoy herself before Friday night dinner was over. "Town meeting!"

"What about it?" Rory asked.

"There's a town meeting tonight. We should hit up the town meeting, and then go to Luke's! And then I'll come back home and you can help me study. You can't miss a town meeting for finals," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes at the mention of the word.

Rory nodded. "Well, I suppose that can be an approved study break outing. We should get there on time though, Taylor's going to have charts about pollen."

"Pollen?"

"It's allergy season. He'll probably rant a little about us not throwing tissues directly into the trash, therefore spreading the germs to the poor innocent person who has the assigned task of cleaning them up," Rory said.

Lorelai gasped. "How could I forget? It's the night of the proper demonstration of how to cough into your elbow! We're so there."

"Are you going to have enough time to study?"

"Of course," Lorelai said, grabbing her keys and her purse. "Grab the stash of gummy bears from underneath the couch, will you? Oh, and also the Doritos from the side table drawer?"

"Such clever hiding spots," Rory said, making her way into the living room to retrieve the snack foods for the meeting.

"Once you get those, we are out of here!" Lorelai declared, walking out the front door.

Rory and Lorelai arrived early to the town meeting. Lorelai looked around for two seats and found some empty chairs next to Luke. Gently tapping Rory on the shoulder and motioning for her to follow, she seated herself in the chair next to Luke and pulled open the package of gummy bears. Holding it in front of Luke as if to offer him one, she shook the bag and tilted it so he could select one if he so desired.

She looked up to see him make a disgusted face. "When you see Eskimos ice fishing in hell, I will have one of your stupid gummy worms."

"How dare you! They're gummy _bears_ and they resent the name you just called them," Lorelai teased, dumping a few of the bears into her hand.

"Luke, did you see Kirk outside at all?" Rory asked, stifling a giggle.

Luke raised his eyebrows. "No. Do I want to know?"

"Who cares about him, I want to know," Lorelai insisted, leaning toward her daughter.

Rory shook her head. She dug into the Doritos and popped a few into her mouth. "I'm not telling," she said, her mouth full of chips.

Just as Lorelai opened her mouth to convince Rory to give her more information, Taylor approached the podium and slammed the gavel down, signaling the beginning of the meeting. "Attention, citizens, settle down, please."

"I see charts," Luke muttered. "Whenever there's charts that means it's gonna be a meeting that's about an hour too long."

"It's the annual allergy season meeting, Luke, you know you're excited," Lorelai teased, gently elbowing him in the ribs.

"Damn it! If I would have known that an hour ago—"

"You would still be here," Lorelai finished. "No one would come into the diner during the best meeting of the year."

"I would not still be here," Luke muttered.

Lorelai shivered at the iciness in Luke's tone. She leaned over to Rory and whispered, "Wow, I think Luke was the kid they picked to play Grumpy in the elementary school production of _Snow White."_

Taylor slammed the gavel on the podium once again, gaining the attention of the rest of the crowd. He straightened up, cleared his throat, and put the gavel down on the podium. "As many of you know, spring is here and so is allergy season."

The townspeople groaned as Lorelai and Rory high-fived each other. "Wow, tough crowd," Lorelai said, handing Rory a few gummy bears in exchange for some Doritos.

"Because many of us in this town are allergy sufferers, I took it upon myself to do a little research on pollen and other allergens that are abundant during this point in the year," Taylor declared. He walked over to the easels on the other side of the studio and removed their cloth covers.

"Here we go," Luke groaned, pressing down on the bill of his baseball cap.

"Here we go!" Lorelai echoed with much more enthusiasm as she grabbed a few more Doritos.

"There are two types of pollination. The first form of pollination occurs when the wind blows. Now, I know those of you who are sniffly this season would love to stop that from occurring, but unfortunately, I cannot. I can, however, _control_ the second type of pollination. Kirk, would you demonstrate, please?"

Kirk entered Miss Patty's studio dressed like a bumble bee, repeatedly shouting the word 'buzz' as he ran toward the front of the building. Taylor stepped aside for Kirk to begin his demonstration of how pollen can be transferred via insects. Lorelai and Rory failed to hold back their laughter as Luke shook his head in disbelief.

"Unbelievable," Luke whispered angrily. "I could have stayed at the diner."

"They added even better visual aids!" Lorelai said, trying to catch her breath.

Rory nodded. "Oh my God, I hope someone is filming this!"

"The fact that you're amused by this is insane," Luke grumbled, crossing his arms.

Lorelai tried to regain her composure by taking several deep breaths. She leaned over to Luke, gently putting her hand on his knee. "Come on, Taylor and Kirk making idiots of themselves? How could you not enjoy something like this? I mean, everyone will clearly disagree with Taylor's plan to wipe out the bee population in Stars Hollow. Take it as a personal victory. Seriously, how often do you get to see Kirk in a bee costume running around Miss Patty's and buzzing?"

"They are making idiots of themselves," Luke agreed. "I just don't want to be here to witness their stupidity."

"Thank you, Kirk, for that very detailed demonstration. Now, I think we could all use a refresher about germs and spreading of germs this time of year."

Lorelai looked over at Luke, who was growing more and more frustrated. He fidgeted in his seat, trying not to say anything as Taylor demonstrated the proper way to dispose of a tissue. She giggled as he finally lost it and stood up from his chair.

"Taylor, we get this lecture every year. They teach us in preschool not to cough in other people's faces; can you just leave it alone and let us all go home?"

"Luke, you clearly don't understand the severity of the epidemic that could hit Stars Hollow if we're not careful!" Taylor warned.

"Allergy season is not an epidemic; it's a fact of life. Let the people who have allergies deal with it on their own, and if anyone sneezes in your face, then you can worry!"

"Don't even joke about something like that, Luke! It's simply impossible to know what an individual is infected with when they sneeze around you! You have to learn to protect yourself and others from any communicable diseases!"

Luke rolled his eyes. "How did we get from allergies to communicable disease?"

"I was curious, too, Taylor," Babette said.

"It's a little bit of a stretch, if you ask me," Miss Patty agreed.

Lorelai giggled as Taylor tried to warn everyone against the dangers of unknown diseases. She looked to Rory, who was completely hooked on the new developments. Her eyes were wide and she was unconsciously reaching for more Doritos as Taylor argued with the townspeople.

She glanced up to where Luke was standing. He was tall from that angle. Lorelai found her eyes traveling from his hat to his boots and back again, completely intrigued. It wasn't the first time she caught herself staring, but from her angle, it was almost like she noticed new features. She could notice a faint scar on his thumb as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Her eyes moved from his hands to his arms. The sleeves of his flannel were rolled to his elbows, exposing his arms. Lorelai quickly averted her eyes and tried to focus on the argument at hand. _Stop staring at Luke,_ she told herself. _Focus. Meeting. Bees. Kirk as a bee. Buzzing all around. Pollen. Springtime. Allergies. I wonder if Taylor has allergies. I wonder if Luke has allergies. _

Her sudden fascination with Luke took over once again, and she found herself staring at his ass. She was at the perfect angle to do so. Tilting her head slightly to the side, she was startled out of her trance as he let out a frustrated grunt and seated himself once again.

She shook her head. Luke seemed to be distracting her a lot lately. She couldn't study until she fixed things with him, and now she couldn't concentrate on the best town meeting of the year because she was admiring his… what was she admiring? He was _Luke._

The meeting ended and the crowd began to file out of Miss Patty's studio. "All right, you've had your fun for the night," Rory insisted, pulling Lorelai by the arm. "It's back to studying for you."

"I studied during the meeting!" Lorelai protested, trying to find an excuse to get to the diner.

"Yeah, you studied pollen and bees, which I'm sure are not subjects on your exams. Back to work, let's go."

Lorelai pouted, allowing Rory to lead her back to the Crap Shack. "I studied other things!" she insisted.

"Really? Like what?"

Lorelai hesitated. _The scar. Wonder how he got that scar. I wonder what size boots he wears. Bees. Pollen. Kirk as a bee. Luke's ass. Kirk had a stinger for an ass._ "Fine, you win."

They arrived home and Lorelai tried to get to work once again.

_Fundamentals of Business. Trademarks, corporations, monopolies. Luke. Allergies. Does he have allergies? Have I ever seen Luke sick before? If I've never seen him sick before, he probably doesn't have allergies. Why am I thinking about Luke and allergies? Copyright law. _

"Ugh, this is hopeless," Lorelai groaned, resting her chin in her hand and attempting to focus again.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry about the long wait on this one. My muse was on a desert island, watching Fargo until it exploded. (So, I watched the Office tonight. Sue me.) I need to thank **Filo** for her patience, her beta-work, and for her willingness to brainstorm when I could think of no words to put into a certain spot. Thanks to everyone who's been reading!

* * *

It wasn't like she needed Rory to keep her on track. She really didn't. She had done fine all afternoon. But when it came time for Rory to leave for the emergency meeting for the Franklin, something faltered and Lorelai could no longer concentrate. She sighed. It had faltered at the town meeting, technically.

She rolled her eyes. This was her chance to do well. She had exactly twenty four hours until the final. Twenty four hours to prove that she was ready to ace those finals. Twenty four hours to prove that she was ready to open her own inn.

That was crazy. It was way too much pressure if she thought about it like that. Lorelai knew if she put that kind of pressure on herself she would get way too stressed out. Sure, these finals were important, but they didn't stand in the way of the rest of her life.

At least, she hoped they didn't.

_iQuit being overdramatic. It's just finals. They will not make or break your career. Shut up, focus, and pull yourself together./i_

Lorelai cringed. The internal struggle she was having with herself brought her back fourteen years to her last testing experience. She sat in the potting shed of the inn with her books spread out on the floor while Rory slept in the crib. This test was going to be make or break. Her GED would give her more opportunities, and more money as a result. Mia had graciously given her money to take a preparatory class and to buy study materials… she couldn't handle the thought of disappointing her.

That feeling was one of the worst feelings in the world. She had already disappointed her parents, and while she was sure that Mia would be supportive regardless, something deep inside her irrationally feared disappointing Mia too. If she disappointed Mia, she would disappoint herself. And that wasn't something she could take.

She knew she was in a better situation now, but somehow the anxiety of finals was still affecting her. Lorelai knew that failing exams wasn't going to prevent her from providing for Rory. She was able to do that before she started taking courses at the college. Taking a deep breath, she started filing through her flash cards again. Without really reading them, she haphazardly placed them in two piles. As the piles began to merge together, she focused in on the two sections. She wasn't sure which was the 'right' pile and which was the 'wrong' pile.

Frustrated, she threw the cards on the table and grabbed her books. She picked up her purse and sat it on the top of the stack, slamming the door shut on her way out. Lorelai wasn't sure what possessed her to carry her books out with her in the first place, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that her books had practically become appendages.

The thought of burning the books came to mind. Her rational side rescued her from starting a Stars Hollow forest fire, however, and told her to keep walking. She walked to the gazebo and debated sitting down when she saw Luke's across the way.

She crossed the street and opened the door, letting it slam just like the door to the Crap Shack.

"We're closed!" Luke barked from the kitchen, poking his head out to see who had entered. When he saw it was Lorelai, he dropped the dishtowel he was using and walked around the counter. "Sorry. I thought you were Kirk or Taylor."

"Why do I do this to myself?" she blurted out, slamming her books onto the table and slumping down into a chair, trying her hardest not to let her guard down in front of Luke.

"Do what to yourself?" he asked, pulling up a chair.

She shook her head, turning to face the window. She could feel the tears of stress, frustration, and nervousness welling up, and she wasn't in the mood to let them show. It wasn't like Luke hadn't seen her cry before. But for some reason, this particular time, Lorelai would give anything to avoid the embarrassment of crying in front of him. After all, they were just barely finding their way back to being 'normal' Luke and Lorelai. The attempted apology in the diner was a step in the right direction, but things were still slightly different.

After a few moments of silence, Luke moved his chair closer. "Are you okay?"

Lorelai took a deep breath. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped. She wasn't sure if she could articulate what she was feeling to begin with, let alone doing so in front of Luke. Lorelai looked up at Luke. Their eyes met for a moment, and she quickly glanced out the window to avoid staring into them. If she looked for too long, she would end up melting into a pile of goo. And that was the last thing she needed. But even in that brief moment when their eyes met, she noticed a look in his eyes that made her feel a little more at ease. Finally, she started to share her thoughts. "I put way too much pressure on myself. I mean, this isn't something that I absolutely need to do so I can survive, right? It's just a bunch of stupid tests that I'm getting myself all worked up about. The worst that can happen is that I fail these finals, I don't graduate, and I take the classes again. Lather, rinse, repeat as needed, you know?"

"What makes you think you're going to fail?"

Lorelai sighed. She shook her head, turning to look at Luke once again. "I'm being irrational. It's stupid to even worry about, you know? I guess all through business school my mantra was 'this is for the inn', you know? This is something I'm doing on my own, only for me, no one's making me do this. But somehow that turned into thinking about how much Harvard is going to cost in a few years, and how I plan to pay for that. And opening my own inn could really… oh, God, Sookie!"

Luke's eyebrows furrowed. "Sookie? What about Sookie?"

"This isn't just _my_ dream. This is Sookie's dream, too. I have the dreams of a lot of people in my hands, Luke! Oh, crap, this is worse than I thought," she admitted, trying to subtly wipe a tear that had escaped.

He dragged his chair even closer to her. "It's not worse than you thought."

"Yes it is," she croaked, still trying to hide the effects of her anxiety. She took a deep breath and stood up from the chair. Lorelai said nothing as she paced by the counter. This was i_much/i_ worse than she thought. The fact that her grades on these exams determined a good chunk of her future had never really hit her until that moment. A shiver surged down her spine and she stopped, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms. She knew that she had already revealed too much to pretend that she was fine.

She cringed. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate to share all of that, considering the state of their friendship. But she was feeling a little better getting it off of her chest, so she collected her thoughts and glanced at Luke. She caught another glimpse at that comforting look in his eyes, and again continued, trying to ignore the fact that she may not have completely patched things up with Luke. "It's not just my dreams I'm controlling here. If it was just me, I think I'd be much more relaxed about this. Sure, I complained about studying and stuff, but I know I want this more than anything. I'd figure it out for myself. But now that it involves Rory and Sookie…"

He walked over to the counter and stood in front of her. "Lorelai," he said, gently placing his right hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

She straightened up, trying not to show that she could feel the heat from his hand through her shirt. i_Cool it/i,_ she told herself, doing her best to keep her composure. The new feelings that she was having for Luke were making the entire situation more difficult. "I hate disappointing people, Luke," Lorelai said, her voice cracking as she spoke. "I can't imagine disappointing Sookie and Rory and everyone else because I didn't study hard enough, or I froze when the test was in front of me."

Luke moved to her left and leaned against the counter. "I doubt you'll disappoint anyone."

She looked at him and smiled, sniffling and brushing another escaped tear from her cheek. "Thanks. That makes me feel better."

"You don't look like you feel better."

Lorelai knew she could try to hide her frustration and her nerves, but she also knew that Luke could see right through it. She shrugged. "I'm fine."

"This isn't about the finals, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

He turned to face her. "You wouldn't get this bent out of shape about disappointing other people. I can see you being nervous. Sure, you want to make them proud. But normally you'd take pressure like this and turn that around and use it to motivate you. This whole thing isn't about finals and pressure and other people. Something's bothering you."

"I'm fine, really."

"People who are fine don't walk into my diner throwing books around and rambling on and on about disappointing people. Disappointing people isn't something you're normally so focused on."

Lorelai broke eye contact and looked down at the floor. "It's just—"

"What?"

She cleared her throat. "I guess as things progressed in my life I saw myself graduating from business school, getting a degree, and opening my own inn. That's how I had it planned. My blinders have been on for years to make sure things go as planned."

"How do finals change that?" Luke asked, confused.

"I guess I got to thinking about how these tests really mean something, you know? I never thought about what would happen if I didn't pass them."

"What's the worst that can happen? You take the classes again? It's what, two classes?"

She nodded. "That's just the thing, though. It's deviating from the plan. I have this plan, and I want it to work out. As long as I can remember, I've gone by my master plan. I started making this plan the moment I found out I was pregnant. Sure, I made revisions and added some things to the plan. But when the plan is altered on terms I'm not comfortable with—"

"So you're basically worried about disappointing yourself?"

"Well, it sounds stupid when you say it like that," she said, giving him a gentle and playful shove with her left hand as she wiped her eyes with her right.

Luke shook his head. "It's not stupid. Irrational? Absolutely. Stupid? No," he said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Lorelai sniffled, leaning against him. She certainly felt stupid. She took a deep breath, giving in to Luke's kind gesture and wrapping her arms around him. For a moment, she thought about letting go, but she stayed there, taking in the feeling of Luke gently rubbing her back in an attempt to calm her down. He didn't think her freak out was stupid. She was standing in the diner, crying and hugging Luke, all over finals.

Suddenly she didn't feel so stupid. The hug wasn't new; he had hugged her before. But the _feeling_ she got when she hugged him had intensified. She had overlooked the fact that even though his arms were so strong, he hugged with a certain kind of gentleness. It was protective, but not smothering, and comforting but not… she could think of no other way to describe it, other than it was so _Luke._ And that made her feel safe. How could she have overlooked this before? Maybe the realization had something to do with the way things went at the town meeting. It had been awhile since she had a feeling like that when it involved Luke.

Or maybe it hadn't really been that long. The more she blabbed on about the plan, the more she realized that Luke seemed to fit into her plan somehow. Her plan didn't explicitly state what his role was, but he wasn't written out of it, either. And there was really no way of excluding him from the plan. Especially during times like this. She realized how long she had been hugging him, and stopped letting her mind wander so much. Reluctantly, she pulled back.

"It's not stupid? Really? You're going to think the rest of the explanation is stupid."

"Try me."

She sighed. "I just remember the last time I studied this hard, and how nervous I was. I got major flashbacks at the kitchen table tonight, remembering how I studied to get my GED. It was one of those things, you know? It would bring in a lot more money for Rory, and we could be more comfortable and independent. And then I ended up thinking deeper about this degree and I think that's when I realized that this wasn't just me putting pressure on myself for my own benefit. And Rory and Sookie got involved in my thoughts and I panicked."

"I get that it's a big step. But you're nuts, and you never get all worked up over crap like this. Plus you've done nothing but whine about how much you've studied for days."

She cringed. "I was really that bad, huh?"

"If I didn't know how much you wanted to do well, I'd have pulled a Montag and burned the damn books you felt the need to carry wherever the hell you went."

"A i_Fahrenheit 451/i_ reference? You're really going out of your way to make me feel better."

"You feel better?"

"Yeah, I do," she said with a smile.

"Good."

Lorelai looked at Luke. There were a thousand thoughts running through her head. She wanted to thank him, or at least say something, but she was frozen there, just staring at him in awe of how he outdid himself yet again by simply being there when he was needed. What could she do next? Part of her had the urge to wrap her arms around him again, but she stuffed her hands in her pockets. The image of the white envelope with tickets to the graduation ceremony sitting in her purse kept presenting itself in her mind, and she could no longer ignore it. Walking over to her purse, she pulled out the envelope.

She tapped the envelope in her palm, working up a speech in her head. Each time she tried to open her mouth, she stopped herself, realizing that she had already made a fool of herself. Finally, she decided to let it go. The worst part was over.

"So, uh, there's this thing that they're doing for us at the college. It's like… I guess you can call it a graduation ceremony. Caps and gowns, "Pomp and Circumstance", pictures and diplomas, you know, that stuff. And I have an extra ticket, and I was wondering if… you know, you might want to…"

"You're inviting me to the ceremony?"

She nodded and pulled the ticket out of the envelope. "Yes. I mean, if you want to come to the ceremony. You don't have to or anything. I just…"

"I'll go."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'll go."

"I don't want to make you go to something you don't want to go to…"

He took the ticket from her hand, held it up in the air, and stuck it in his back pocket, as a gesture of acceptance.

Lorelai nervously folded the envelope as he looked at her. She could feel her cheeks getting hot. Her heart started pounding even harder than it was before, and the thoughts in her head were becoming more and more scattered. The stress headache between her eyes was returning, and she tried to keep her cool as she felt her composure slowly deteriorating. It was a cocktail of emotions that she never thought she would experience. With that and the feelings she got when she hugged Luke, she knew she would walk into finals with an emotional hangover.

She pondered what to say for a moment. It wasn't like anything had really changed between them. Before she knew it, the envelope was torn into four pieces. She looked down at the torn paper in her hands and held it up, laughing and shaking her head. Lorelai dropped the pieces of the envelope on the counter.

"Thanks," she finally said, breaking the silence. "For going to the ceremony, for helping me realize that my stressing out isn't entirely stupid. You know, for… everything that you've done lately."

He nodded. "It's no big deal."

"Well, to me it is. If you hadn't talked me down, I think I'd be repeatedly banging my head against the books while repeating 'why did I do this to myself?' over and over again. So you uh, saved me from a giant, swollen, egg shaped bruise on my head. For that, I will be forever grateful."

He chuckled. "That kind of stuff is not usually worth getting potential brain damage over."

She smiled. It was rare to hear him laugh like that. She liked the sound of his laugh. It was one of those little things she noticed on occasion, like the scar on his thumb. Lorelai turned to face Luke, and he gave her a smile back. She took a deep breath. Seeing him smile and hearing him laugh at the same time was even less common.

He was so laid back about her meltdown. That's what she loved about him. To her, something could be the biggest problem in the world, and he always seemed to make it better. Damn him and his willingness to listen. It was making her more confused. i_Sure, Gilmore. Have another cocktail, why don't you? Just be glad you didn't drive here, or you'd have to say the alphabet backwards when the cops pulled you over./i_

Lorelai took a deep breath. All of the confusing emotions welled to the surface as she leaned in towards him. Before she knew it, her lips were dangerously close to his, and neither one of them was pulling back. She quickly turned her head, gave him a peck on the cheek, just shy of his lips, and stepped away.

"So, uh, thanks for, you know, averting my crisis," Lorelai said, gathering her books. She walked over to the counter to gather the discarded pieces of the ticket envelope, reaching out and brushing Luke's hand as she collected them. Jerking her hand back, she shoved the torn envelope in her pocket. She walked over to the table and grabbed her purse.

He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. No problem."

"I have to… get going. Lots of work to do. Make sure that my breakfast is extra… cheesy tomorrow." She squeezed her eyes shut, shuddering at the embarrassment she felt, wishing that she could take the events of the past few minutes back.

Lorelai turned around and exited the diner, muttering under her breath. She shook her head. How could she have acted like that? A few days ago, she was absolutely furious with Luke, and now she was perfectly willing to i_kiss/i _him? i_Almost kiss/i,_ she reminded herself. i _It was an almost kiss. Your lips just barely touched his./i_

She groaned. Almost kiss or actual kiss, there was now another dynamic to her relationship with Luke. Every time they had a moment similar to that, it took her weeks to rationalize how he fit in her life. But this time things were different. Each moment they had before this was just that, a moment. There were usually some confusing feelings, but she always moved on. But this time, there was a kiss. The classification of the kiss was still up for debate, but there was a kiss involved.

Damn Luke and his willingness to listen. Now she would get nothing done.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **This is way overdue. Guilty as charged. Sorry about that. But hey, it's finally finished! And I need to thank many people for that. One of them is **Filo** for being so kind as to beta this for me. And collectively, I need to thank the **SCPP** because they all wrote stuff and because they wrote stuff it inspired me to write the stuff I needed to write. Thanks. Finally, I want to thank all of you for your patience and for being so kind as to read. Hope you enjoy the last chapter!

* * *

Lorelai handed the departing guests their invoice and politely thanked them. She watched as they walked out the door, and once she was satisfied that they were out of sight, she put her head in her hands, letting out a frustrated sigh. Her finals were over, and they went well, but Lorelai felt even more stressed than she was to begin with. The graduation ceremony was fast approaching and she was positive that no, she didn't dream that she had invited Luke to attend.

She joked with Rory about how her evil plot to ignore him for the rest of her life was foiled, but in all seriousness she wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing him again. Lorelai had managed to avoid going to the diner since the incident. That was the easy part. Finding reasons good enough to convince Rory that she couldn't go to the diner to talk to Luke about what happened wasn't as simple. For almost a week, some well placed excuses and an already busy week helped her to live in denial, as though the kiss had never happened. But Lorelai was almost positive that Rory would insist that they eat in the diner that night.

Lorelai wasn't exactly a fan of avoiding the subject, but it seemed so much easier than actually thinking about the events in the diner the day before exams. She wasn't exactly prepared to explain why she felt this sudden urge to kiss him. He was just being Luke. It wasn't anything totally new or shocking. He had been there for her in some similar situations, and she didn't feel the need to kiss him then.

Why was that? Why was it that at this very moment of her life, she started to see him so differently? What was it about _that day _that compelled her to do what she did, or to suddenly become interested in him?

She stood up straight and folded her arms across her chest. Was it really just a recent development? The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had felt this way about Luke for much longer than the past few days. She struggled to pinpoint an exact day, an exact moment, when she started to feel the way she felt. Suddenly, Lorelai's focus shifted to graduation.

He accepted the ticket from her with no hesitation whatsoever. She knew that Luke would still attend the ceremony. Lorelai shook her head when she realized the situation she had gotten herself into. She needed some more coffee to process the entire situation. Grabbing her coffee mug and glaring at Michel as if to tell him to stay put, she went to the kitchen in search for coffee.

Luke was going to show up, whether she had processed everything or not. Talk or no talk, he would be there. It was unavoidable.

As she poured some coffee into her mug, she listened to Sookie and Jackson debate the quality of the carrots that were just delivered. Sipping her coffee, Lorelai stood and watched them argue, slightly amused. Just as the fight seemed to end and Jackson walked toward the door, Lorelai took a deep breath. Maybe Sookie could give her some insight on the Luke situation. Jackson almost made it out before he returned to discuss wedding logistics with Sookie. Sensing that the conversation wouldn't end anytime soon, Lorelai slipped out of the kitchen, grabbing a cookie on her way out.

She quickly ate the cookie and washed it down with her coffee as she walked down the hallway. Drumming her fingers against the side of the mug, she began to think about the ramifications of the kiss once more. Ignoring it wasn't going to make it go away. And as much as she liked to pretend otherwise, ignoring it wasn't making her feel better, either. She resolved to talk about it with Luke that night as she continued her aimless walk around the halls of the inn. Lorelai felt a strange sense of relief as she walked, knowing that this time, she wasn't going to back down. She wasn't going to put it off. She would finally have the talk she knew she needed.

Just as she walked around the corner, she saw Luke approaching her office with an oversized basket in his hands. So the conversation would have to happen earlier than she had anticipated. It wasn't a big deal. She had already talked herself into it, there was no going back now.

She watched as he awkwardly reached for the handle of her office door. As Luke tried to open the door, Lorelai realized that she had locked it.

"Wow, my psychic powers really do work," Lorelai said, walking up behind Luke and pulling her keys out of her pocket.

Luke jumped, startled by Lorelai's sudden appearance. "Jeez, Lorelai, you scared the hell out of me!"

She smiled, reaching for the door. "You doing a reverse B&E?"

"A what?"

Lorelai shrugged. "B&E is breaking and entering. And a reverse B&E is when… you know, when you leave something instead of taking… something… you leave… something…" She cleared her throat in an attempt to stop rambling when she saw Luke readjust the heavy basket in his hands. "You want me to open the door, don't you?"

"That would be why I'm standing by it. And can I ask you why you will lock the door to your office, but not to your own home?"

"I didn't want anyone messing with the setup I have going in here."

"You have a setup in there?" Luke asked, puzzled, shifting the oversized basket once more.

Lorelai nodded, opening the door. "Yes. We got new pillows for a bunch of the rooms and I have them in my office. I have to air them out because they smelled like the truck they came in on."

"So you decided to spread them out across the floor, where they'll get dirty and stepped on?"

She shrugged. "Those are old pillowcases. I figure it will give them the 'inn' smell and I can walk around them until then. Follow me, I've found a route that works best," she said, stepping over some pillows and making her way toward her desk.

"You don't have anywhere to sit in here," Luke muttered, following her as he tried to keep a grip on the large basket without tripping over or stepping on any pillows.

"Sure I do," she replied, gathering a few pillows together as she stopped in front of her desk. "Sit on these and use one so the desk doesn't poke you in the back."

"I should go anyway. I was just uh, making sure you got that before your graduation. Where should I put it?"

Lorelai knew that if she didn't talk to Luke now, her newfound commitment to the conversation would disappear. "You can stay, if you want. Plus, this basket looks pretty cool and I'd hate to open it alone."

"Okay," Luke agreed.

She watched as he stood straddling two pillows, unsure of where to sit. Lorelai seated herself and moved some pillows next to her so Luke could sit. When he didn't move, she patted the pillow next to her. "You can sit, you know."

"Right, right," he replied, shaking his head as he walked closer to the desk. He sighed, moving a pillow out of his way and choosing to sit on the floor next to Lorelai. "I'm not sitting on a pillow that someone's going to use to sleep on."

"Suit yourself," Lorelai said, placing a pillow behind her back. "When your butt falls asleep, don't come crying to me."

There was a long pause, and Lorelai played with the corner of a pillowcase. She wanted to start the conversation, but she didn't want to make things worse. Just as she opened her mouth, Luke cleared his throat, handing her the gift. "Uh, well, I wanted to give you this. I wasn't sure if you'd have time to open it after the ceremony, so I figured I'd leave this for you to open before tomorrow."

"What, you thought I had plans or something?"

"I didn't know if Rory had… you know, thought of something."

"Well, uh, nothing so far, but you know Rory, full of surprises," she replied, reaching for the basket. She rested the basket on her lap and jerked her hand out awkwardly as it fell forward. She caught it just before the items tumbled out, letting out a nervous giggle. She tucked her feet underneath her, placing the basket on the floor in front of her as she turned to face Luke. "You didn't have to do this."

"It's no big deal," he said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just a bunch of gag gifts. You can toss the whole thing when I leave, if you want."

Lorelai reached in and pulled out a stuffed donkey wearing a graduation cap. She grinned. "Well, look at him! I shall call him Smart Ass," she giggled.

Luke shook his head, trying not to laugh at Lorelai's joke. "He talks," Luke said, reaching over to pull the donkey's tail.

Lorelai grinned. "Even better," she said, lifting the donkey toward her ear to listen.

"I'm smarter than you are, much, much smarter than you," the donkey sang, to the tune of the graduation march.

She laughed. "This is hilarious!" she said, pulling his tail again.

"Now the lunatics are _really_ running the asylum!" the donkey proclaimed as Lorelai laughed harder.

"He is very appropriately named," Lorelai said, composing herself and putting the donkey aside. "Ooh, office supplies!"

"They're just stupid little things I picked up at the junky little shop Kirk worked at a couple of months ago."

"And that shop closed far too early, my friend, it's where I got my coffee mug that looks like a paper cup," Lorelai said, pulling out a post it note holder shaped like a slice of bread.

"You put the post-its there so they look like butter on the toast," Luke said, pointing to the center of the post it holder.

She grinned. "It will make me want to eat. Which is never a bad thing. Lipstick?" she asked, pulling open the cap to reveal a pen. "It's a lipstick PEN! Wow, Luke, these delightfully tacky and cheesetastic office supplies are perfect, thank you." She popped the lipstick pen open and shut as she looked at the gifts sitting in the basket. Luke knew her so well. The gifts were so personal, so funny, and so perfect for her. He was a great gift giver. She looked at him and gave him a warm smile as she placed the pen back in the basket.

"I hope they weren't too stupid," Luke said. "I know you like the gag gifts and stuff."

"No, these are perfect! I mean, who else wouldn't be afraid to buy me a scarf that's designed like police tape?" she grinned, throwing the scarf around her neck as she reached in the basket once again and found a velvet box. Her heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened as she took a deep breath, turning toward a now clearly nervous Luke. "What's this?"

"If you don't like it, I can take it back," Luke shrugged, looking down at the box in her hands. "I thought of you when I saw it."

She slowly opened the box and smiled when she saw a silver Hello Kitty charm bracelet sitting inside. "Wow," she said, gently lifting the bracelet out of the box to inspect it. A small silver graduation cap charm was hooked next to the Hello Kitty charm. She was speechless. It was the perfect gift. She turned to Luke, trying to thank him, but instead, she simply looked at him, unable to say a word. "Luke, I don't know what to say."

He reached over and hooked the bracelet around her wrist, and the touch of his hand on her skin made her stomach flop. For a moment, the conversation was friendly, but now there was a silence that was compelling her to talk, just to hear some noise and avoid thinking about how good Luke looked in blue flannel. How much she wanted to kiss him again. How she hoped that things wouldn't change between them.

"Thanks, Luke, this is… uh, really nice."

"I'm glad you like it," he replied.

The two sat in silence for a little while longer as Lorelai packed up her basket and moved it aside. _That kiss,_ she thought,_ I'm sorry about that kiss. I mean, I'm not. Or am I? I want to kiss you again. I wanted to kiss you again the other night. You have nice lips. And nice eyes. And I bet you're a good kisser. Luke is probably an amazing kisser. _The thoughts rolled around in her head and she knew she had to bring up the kiss. The words were on the tip of her tongue. She opened her mouth, but no words escaped. She sighed, placing a pillow behind her back before deciding she should just start talking again. She leaned her head against the back of the desk, trying to force the words to come out.

"I'm uh, sorry about the other night."

"You are?" he asked, the disappointment and surprise both evident in his voice.

She nodded. "I mean, I kind of freaked out on you, and then sort of kissed you, and uh, freaked out again."

"You didn't freak out," he said in a reassuring tone.

"I didn't?"

He chuckled softly. "Okay, maybe you did."

"Is this uh…" she paused for a moment, debating whether she wanted to know the answer to the question she was about to ask. "Is this going to change things between us?"

He sighed, straightening up against her desk. "Only if you want them to," he replied.

Lorelai looked down at her bracelet, grabbing one of the links and twisting it around her wrist as she thought. "I uh, don't want to make things, you know, awkward, but—" she trailed off, looking over at Luke.

"But?"

She didn't know what to say. It was like her brain turned to mush when she looked at him. All she could think about was how gorgeous his eyes were, and how hard it was not to kiss him again. She wanted to tell him that she didn't want things to be weird between them, but she was pretty sure she liked him as more than just the guy who gave her coffee in the morning. Or all day, for that matter. He was so much more than that. He knew exactly what gifts she'd enjoy. She had a basket full of them. And that made her want to kiss him more. She looked down to find that she had been lining up pillows as she thought. She tried to avoid eye contact, but she felt him staring at her. Soon, she had no choice but to look back. She took a deep breath in an effort to collect her thoughts, but before she could say anything, Luke leaned forward and kissed her softly.

For a moment, she went limp, almost unable to react. As the shock wore off, she kissed him back, amazed at how right it felt. His kiss was soft and gentle, but slowly turned into something more powerful as she pulled him closer. Soon, his tongue was searching for hers as he slipped her sweater off her shoulders.

"I'm glad we get to do this now," Lorelai said breaking the kiss and tossing Luke's baseball cap aside.

"Why's that?"

"The tassel would get in the way after the ceremony," she stated matter-of-factly.

"You planned on finding me after the ceremony?" he asked, moving toward Lorelai's neck.

Lorelai moved closer to Luke. . "I wasn't sure if you were still going to come, but if you were there, it was going to be a serious possibility. This was starting to eat away at me. I had to know how you felt."

She saw a small smile appear on his face as he reached for the top button of her blouse. "Well, now you know."

"I do? I'm not so sure," Lorelai teased, reaching for her ponytail and removing the elastic that held her hair back.

Luke finished unbuttoning Lorelai's blouse and slid it off her shoulders. She shivered. His hands were a little colder than she imagined, but the way his fingers slowly dragged down her arms made her warm. For a moment, she was frozen there, unable to move as his hands moved down toward the zipper on her dress pants. But when she felt his fingers in the waistband in an attempt to unhook them, it was like she suddenly remembered she was mobile. Lorelai reached over and pulled him by his flannel shirt, crashing her lips onto his as she felt around for the buttons. She put her left hand on his shoulder, and gently pressed her right hand to his chest as she searched, remembering just how much she had always wanted to touch him like this. As she located a button just above his stomach, she walked her fingers up his chest and toward his neck, trying to locate the first one without breaking the kiss. She felt his shoulder tense up slightly as she finally started to free Luke from his flannel shirt.

He moaned as she worked her way toward the bottom of his shirt, making sure that she hadn't missed any buttons by dragging her hand up and down his chest. Lorelai broke the kiss, grinning in delight as she pushed the shirt off of his shoulders. She quickly reached for his t-shirt and pulled it off even faster, jumping at the chance to see his toned body without any barriers.

Luke kicked off his boots as Lorelai straddled his legs, one knee on either side of him as she reached for the waistband of his jeans. She leaned forward to kiss him again as she tugged at his zipper. Lorelai felt Luke reaching for her bra clasp as she tried in vain to pull his jeans down his legs. He pulled away and slowly rolled her over as he unhooked her bra. He grabbed a pillow and placed it behind Lorelai as she continued to attempt to remove his pants.

She rested her head on the pillow and lifted her hips as Luke grabbed onto the waistband of her dress pants. Lorelai took a deep breath as he pulled her pants and her underwear down her legs. Luke placed another pillow behind her back as she lowered her hips and reached out to touch him through his jeans. The feeling of his hands on her hips made her heart beat even faster, and if she didn't get his pants off soon, she would surely go crazy.

He helped her remove his pants and looked into her eyes, brushing a stray curl from her face. Luke reached behind him, grabbing another pillow. "Do you need another—"

She shook her head, reaching up and grabbing his hair with her fists. "No, no, I need you. Now."

Luke leaned forward, pressing kisses along her collarbone and making his way to the skin between her breasts. Lorelai closed her eyes and shivered once more. "Luke," she moaned.

"Just returning the favor," he replied in a hoarse voice. As his soft lips made contact with her skin, she silently cursed herself for teasing him in a similar way before. The tone of his voice elevated her heart rate once again. She wanted him even more. He then started the journey back up, slowly kissing her jaw line before arriving back at her lips.

His tongue searched for hers as he moved closer to her. He broke the kiss, positioning himself in front of Lorelai and looking into her eyes. Luke slowly slid into her as she tilted her head back and exhaled. When her eyes and his locked once more, she felt her heartbeat racing. After all this wondering, after all this time imagining, staring, and daydreaming, all her fantasies were slowly becoming reality.

Luke glided in and out of her as her breathing became deeper and her grip on his shoulders became tighter. She felt herself teetering closer and closer to the edge as she dragged her nails across his back, watching him let out a moan of pleasure from the sensation. Lorelai grabbed onto his shoulders as she lost all control, as the vibrations of pleasure went up and down her body.

She inhaled sharply as his body reacted to her climax. His breathing became slower as she leaned up to kiss him, leaning her head back on the pillow once more when he leaned forward, allowing his lips to meet hers.

After a moment of taking in the satisfaction of being together, Lorelai watched as Luke rolled over onto the row of pillows she had unconsciously created earlier. She smiled. "I guess my insanity is good for preventing rug burns."

Luke turned to face her. "Apparently so."

"So I'm guessing this means that things aren't too weird between us for you to come to the graduation ceremony."

"Your guess would be correct," he said, leaning forward to kiss her.

"We have to make sure we get a picture of you and Smart Ass," she teased, moving closer to him and adjusting a pillow behind her back.

He rolled his eyes. "I knew I'd regret giving you that stupid talking donkey."

Lorelai laughed, leaning forward to kiss him again. "Well you know what I regret? Not having any sheets in here. This could be quite the comfy setup with some sheets."

* * *

"There's my little graduate!" Rory proclaimed as she gave Lorelai a hug.

"That's me, I'm officially a smarty pants now," Lorelai replied. She turned to Luke and grinned. "Well, you clean up nice," she said, stroking his cheek as she leaned forward to give him a kiss.

Suddenly, Rory grabbed Lorelai's arm, breaking up the kiss. "Mom! Did we invite Grandma and Grandpa?" she asked, pointing across the way to where Emily and Richard were standing.

"You said we only got a limited amount of tickets! Sookie, Jackson, Luke, you, and that was it!" Lorelai gasped, frantically searching for Richard and Emily.

"Well, I thought so too!" Rory replied.

"Maybe Sookie invited them," Luke reasoned.

"If she did, I don't care how good that graduation cake is, she's so on my list," Lorelai muttered, putting on a happy face as Richard and Emily approached. "Mom, Dad! What are you doing here?"

"What, our daughter graduates and we aren't allowed to attend? Oh, yes, I forgot, we weren't invited, were we, Richard?" Emily replied, waving at someone across the room to get their attention. "Sookie and Jackson were unable to attend. Something about a kitchen accident, no injuries and the cake is fine, but apparently it was necessary for them to skip out on the ceremony. So they gave us their tickets. Imagine our surprise when we found out about the entire occasion."

Richard gave Lorelai a congratulatory kiss on the cheek. "Now, Emily," he said, turning back toward his wife.

"Well, when we were planning this, you two were going to be out of town," Rory insisted, obviously attempting to avoid any blowups on Lorelai's graduation day. "And by the time we knew you weren't, the tickets had already been handed out and we didn't want to insult you. It's my fault. I'm so sorry."

Emily smiled. "Well, never mind that. Thomas here is going to take some pictures of everyone. Rory, why don't you go with him so he can start setting us up by the tree over there? We'll be there shortly."

Rory followed the photographer as Emily turned to Lorelai and Luke. "Luke, I didn't know you were going to be here."

"It's nice to see you again," he replied politely.

"I suppose we'll be seeing a lot more of each other now, won't we?" Emily said with a knowing smile. "Come along, you two, Thomas is waiting."

As Emily and Richard walked away, Lorelai turned to Luke. "Busted," she said. "I'm so sorry."

He shrugged. "It's better than announcing it at some fancy dinner, I guess."

"I know the perfect way to get back at her," Lorelai teased.

"Get back at her? For what? She saw us, Lorelai."

Lorelai's arm emerged from the sleeve of her gown and she pulled out the donkey Luke had given her in the basket. "Smart Ass wants to meet Emily and Richard."

"Oh, jeez," Luke replied, putting his arm around her and walking toward the tree as Lorelai shoved the donkey toward his ear.

_The End_


End file.
